Despite Dana White’s plea, Chris Weidman doesn’t intend on retiring after UFC 292.
Weidman (15-7 MMA, 11-7 UFC) returned from an over two-year long layoff after suffering a gruesome leg break in April 2021, but fell short in a unanimous decision loss to Brad Tavares (20-8 MMA, 15-8 UFC) in this past Saturday’s featured prelim at TD Garden in Boston.
Weidman looked tentative to start, and was heavy on his lead leg. He was able to let loose in Round 2, but Tavares chopped away at both his legs which seriously hindered his movement. During the UFC 292 post-fight news conference, Dana White urged Weidman to hang his gloves up, but the 39-year-old isn’t planning to.
“I’m not done,” Weidman told ESPN during the UFC 292 post-fight show. “I’ll be back better than ever, but this was a good opportunity for me to get back in the octagon.”
Weidman admits there was some ring rust, but says Tavares was also gun shy to start.
“There was hesitancy,” Weidman said. “There was probably a little bit of ring rust. No excuses. I told Brad after the fight he’s an awesome dude. We kind of stood there the first round. I guess he was kind of worried about my takedowns and I was just kind of getting a feel to be in there again.
“I can’t believe he leg kicked me. When he started leg kicking me, I was like, ‘You b*stard. You’re such a nice dude, why are you freaking leg kicking me?’ Then when he kicked my surgery leg, that’s kind of what pissed me off.”
Weidman was wheeled out on a chair backstage, but doesn’t think there’s serious damage to his legs.
“Both legs hurt pretty bad,” Weidman said. “I’m on a wheelchair that they’re pushing me in. The surgery leg one is pretty puffy, I don’t think there’s any serious damage. I have a rod in the middle of that thing, but there’s definitely going to be some pain for the next week or so.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.
Chris Weidman insists he’s not done after UFC 292 loss: ‘I’ll be back better than ever’